11:27 PM,
Apr. 8, 2013

Ron Johnson?s goal was to reinvent J.C. Penney?s business as a hip place to shop in a bid to attract younger, wealthier shoppers.

Written by

Anne D?Innocenzio
and Candice Choi

J.C. Penney's board of directors has ousted CEO Ron Johnson after only 16 months on the job as a risky turnaround strategy backfired and led to massive losses and steep sales drops.

In a statement issued late Monday, the department store chain said that it has rehired Johnson's predecessor Mike Ullman, 66, who was CEO of the department store chain for seven years until November 2011.

The announcement comes as a growing chorus of critics, including former Penney CEO Allen Questrom, called for Johnson's resignation as they lost faith in the turnaround strategy. ...